“As a state exco member, a husband, father and son, how could Gan make such a statement to insult Lim and his wife? He has abused his privilege in the state assembly to play up a personal issue to attack Chew.”

Indeed, Malacca Chinese voters are incensed at how the issue has been played up by the MCA in concert with the state assembly Speaker Othman Mohamad, Umno-controlled TV stations and newspaper.

It was clear from the TV and press coverage that selected Umno media had been given the green light to sneak into the state assembly to film and photograph the proceedings on Monday.

What happened a day ago was that MCA's Gan had raised the matter of Ng Phaik Kheng's transfer in a bid to embarrass her but Betty - a seasoned politician - had refused to take the bait.

Betty turned the tables on Gan and demanded that he repeat his questions outside the assembly, but till now, he has not dared to do so.

Statements made in the assembly - just like in Parliament - are privileged and Gan cannot be sued. However if he were to make the same insinuations outside the assembly, he can be sure that Guan Eng and wife would sue him with the full might of the law.

"I just need to ask about this issue because many people asked me and told me to bring this into the assembly: Does the Kota Laksamana assemblywoman know this woman?" Gan asked.

"I believe many people want to know about this issue, including those from DAP, because many local blogs are running this issue," he said when posing the questions to Chew in the assembly."

Memories of Anya Corke fiasco

Gan went on to say that many bloggers had accused Betty of hitting and kicking Phaik Kheng. He also held up a photo of Guan Eng with a plaster on his forehead.

Indeed, Umno-BN blogs - known for their sexual innuendos - have been painting the town red with their latest 'spin' against Guan Eng, whom they have tried to rock by accusing him of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam.

They have also previously accused his teenage son of molesting a girl in his school. In the end, it was found that the accusations were untrue and the picture of girl they accused of having been molested was actually international chess master Anya Corke, who had never even met Guan Eng's son before.

Meanwhile, Betty and her 4 Malacca colleagues again challenged Gan to repeat his allegations outside the state assembly to prove he was a responsible politician.

“Otherwise he is just another accomplice of BN’s thuggery and political clowning,” they said.